IBM Research - Austin Distinguished Seminar Series

"Five 'Deal Killers' for Energy Security"

Abstract:

Five "deal killers" for energy security are identified: 1) Global warming and CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion; 2) Intermittent energy sources (wind, solar) and the presence and stability of the grid; 3) Penetration of plan defenses to produce transportation fuels from biomass; 4) Mimicking nature; artificial photosynthesis for sunlight to fuels; and 5) Spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. Transformational basic research is required to successfully change the ground rules, to transform these "deal killers" into "game changers." They are: 1) Offsetting carbon capture and storage costs through enhanced oil recovery and methane generation from high temperature geothermal saline aquifers; 2) electrical energy storage, through batteries and super-capacitors; 3) Genetic modification of plan cell walls, and catalytic methods for transforming plan sugars into fuels; 4) Separation of solar-induced electrons from holes, and catalysis to product fuels; and 5) Closing the nuclear fuel cycle. Research at the University of Texas at Austin can revolutionize our approach to carbon-free energy by enhancing nature to achieve energy security.

Biography:

Dr. Raymond Lee Orbach is Director of the University of Texas at Austin's Energy Institute, a multi-disciplinary institute that combines the strengths of the university's schools and colleges to advance solutions to today's energy-related challenges.

Sworn in as the U.S. Department of Energy's first undersecretary for science in 2006, he was also the chief scientist of the Department of Energy and adviser to Secretary Samuel W. Bodman on science policy. Orbach was confirmed to the Senate in 2002 and served as the 14th director of the Office of Science at the Department of Energy. Prior to that, he was the provost of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, los Angeles (UCLA). He also served as chancellor of the University of California (UC), Riverside. Under his leadership, UC Riverside doubled in size, achieved national and international recognition in research and led the University of California in diversity and educational opportunity.

Orbach received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1956. He received his Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1960. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has held numerous visiting professorships at universities around the world and is a member of 20 scientific, professional and civic boards.